Sunlight, Part Deux

In Part One, I described the way I would handle a crisis from a public communications standpoint, and showed how one game company, Turbine, mismanaged its way into losing all of the goodwill of its customer base.

I wanted to write on this because it’s an endemic problem with far more serious consequences than some computer game company going out of business. We get way way too much of the old method where Communications Departments of companies and organizations did everything but communicate, and much too little of the new method that the Connected Age simply demands. In fact, shouldn’t the current Corporate Communications Departments be renamed Corporate Obfuscation Departments instead?

The Bush White House is an excellent example of Obfuscation Departments. Their missteps are costing this country a war that must be won, and will end up delivering the civilized world into the hands of Islamist barbarians. And the dynamic behind the collapse of the Bush White House is the same as the dynamic behind Turbine’s epic collapse over the weekend.

Crisis happens. Anyone who hasn’t managed through a crisis is not a manager; they’re a fair-weather chair-filler perhaps, but no leader. When things are going great, frankly, the manager has very little to do. Answer emails, go to long lunches, and enjoy the perfect machine you’ve put together.

It’s when the shit hits the fans that you need a manager, a leader. And in no place is this more evident than in communications.

The War in Iraq was, I believe, absolutely the right thing to do even in retrospect. Granted, the Dhimmicrat Party and its surrogates in the media would tell us that we went to war over lies, over oil, blah-blah-blah, that we’re breeding more terrorists, yadda-yadda. That’s fine.

Where the Bush Administrations utterly failed is in communications in times of crisis, and in the same way as Turbine did.

First, there should have been a rapid response from the top, and that means the President himself. Name a crisis, any crisis, and he hasn’t done this.

Abu Ghraib? Katrina? Amnesty Bill?

In each case, he should have been out there personally in front of the cameras as soon as some trouble was confirmed. Again, even where he doesn’t know much, doesn’t have much detail, all he has to do is to say, “I’m aware of it; I’m on top of it; my people will be in touch with you.” Granted, the media was and remains on the other side of this conflict, but still, the audience is not. President Bush could have and should have reached the American people directly, to say “I know there have been problems; I’m aware of it, and I’m on it.” And of course, actually get on it.

Rapid response has never been a strong suit of this White House. Instead,

But even more, the constant care and feeding of the populace was never there. Once you have the Big Guy make a statement, then have the press secretary pretty much brief people on the investigation every day. Have the White House people man a blog that is devoted to the topic, and update it constantly with information. Even if that information is, “We have no new news; we’ll let you know on the next update,” that would have gone a loooong way towards alleviating the negativity.

Plus, the Sunlight method would have the press secretary brief the press, and via the blogs, the people directly.  And to do it frequently.  Daily blog posts by the White House is not a bad idea; at least phone calls or emails to key bloggers is not a bad idea.  Daily briefings with the media — including members of the citizen media (aka, blogosphere) are really a good call.  This is even when you have nothing new to add.  Then come to the podium and say, “I have nothing to add; anyone have any questions?”

With the Connected Age, there is no way to “control the message” — it’s better to just tell people what you know, except for things you really can’t divulge.  But then, just say that instead.  The obsession with obfuscation and message control has to end.

Plus, the White House could have and should have told the people everything it could without endangering national security.  Every detail.  Let people know, for example, that “Sgt. Joe Friday from the Army Intelligence is talking to Col. So-and-so about topic A, B, and C today; I hope to know more next week.”  It’s the kind of detail that no Obfuscation expert may want to give, but in the Connected Age, someone somewhere will talk about that detail — and some will attack, but even more will defend.

It’s leveraging your base, your “users”, your “customers”, your people to get the word out there.

Instead… what we get is stonewalling, defensive bullshit, and lack of information from this White House — to the very people who are desperate to defend them, who are “fanbois” of this Administration.  They’ve done everything they could to alienate that key audience — from the bloggers on the Right to Talk Radio.  It’s crazy.

When you look at the freefalling approval ratings of the Bush White House, keep in mind that they are in large part due to the way that this Administration handles communication in the Connected Age.

-TS